PDL qualification for this season is complete, with eight teams punching their ticket to the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The qualifiers – and their competitors – had to deal with multiple tiebreakers and plenty of final day nail biting action. Even then, for two teams, a perfect 4-0-0 record wasn’t enough to send them through.

CENTRAL CONFERENCE

GREAT LAKES DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

Dayton Dutch Lions

4

3

0

1

10

8

1

7

+7

Michigan Bucks

4

3

1

0

9

8

3

8

+5

Chicago Fire

4

2

1

1

7

5

3

5

+2

Indiana Invaders

4

2

1

1

7

4

3

4

+1

Cleveland Internationals

4

1

2

1

4

4

9

4

-5

Cincinnati Kings

4

1

3

0

3

6

8

6

-2

Kalamazoo Outrage

4

0

4

0

0

3

11

3

-8

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

HEARTLAND DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

Des Moines Menace

4

3

1

0

9

7

4

7

+3

Rochester Thunder

4

2

1

1

7

5

2

5

+3

Real Colorado Foxes

4

2

1

1

7

7

4

6

+2

St. Louis Lions

4

2

2

0

6

7

5

6

+1

Kansas City Brass

4

1

2

1

4

2

6

2

-3

Springfield Demize

4

0

3

1

1

2

9

2

-6

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

EASTERN CONFERENCE

MID-ATLANTIC DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

Reading United AC

4

4

0

0

12

13

1

10

+9

Ironbound Express

4

4

0

0

12

9

0

9

+9

New Jersey Rangers

4

3

1

0

9

7

3

7

+4

Carolina Dynamo

4

2

1

1

7

11

7

7

+3

Central Jersey Spartans

4

1

2

1

4

3

6

3

-3

West Virginia Chaos

4

1

3

0

3

2

7

2

-5

Ocean City Nor’easters

4

0

2

2

2

4

8

4

-4

Northern Virginia Royals

4

0

3

1

1

5

13

5

-6

Hampton Roads Piranhas

4

0

3

1

1

3

12

3

-7

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

NORTHEAST DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

Long Island Rough Riders

4

3

0

1

10

9

2

6

+5

Albany BWP Highlanders

4

3

0

1

10

10

6

9

+4

Western Mass Pioneers

4

2

1

1

7

7

3

6

+3

MPS Portland Phoenix

4

1

0

3

6

6

3

6

+3

New Hampshire Phantoms

4

1

1

2

5

3

2

3

+1

Vermont Voltage

4

1

3

0

3

4

14

4

-7

Westchester Flames

4

0

2

2

2

2

6

2

-4

Brooklyn Knights

4

0

4

0

0

5

10

5

-5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

MID-SOUTH DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

DFW Tornados

4

3

1

0

9

6

2

6

+4

Rio Grande Valley Bravos

4

2

1

1

7

5

4

5

+1

Laredo Heat

4

2

2

0

6

11

5

8

+3

El Paso Patriots

4

2

2

0

6

4

8

4

-1

West Texas United Sockers

4

2

2

0

6

4

6

4

-2

Houston Leones

4

0

3

1

1

2

7

2

-5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

SOUTHEAST DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

Central Florida Kraze

4

3

0

1

10

12

2

10

+8

Mississippi Brilla

4

3

0

1

10

11

2

9

+7

Baton Rouge Capitals

4

2

0

2

8

5

2

5

+3

New Orleans Jesters

4

2

2

0

6

11

7

7

+2

Atlanta Blackhawks

4

1

1

2

5

6

6

4

+0

Bradenton Academics

4

1

2

1

4

2

7

2

-3

Nashville Metros

4

1

2

1

4

1

5

1

-4

Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy

4

0

4

0

0

0

10

0

-8

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

WESTERN CONFERENCE

NORTHWEST DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

Kitsap Pumas

4

4

0

0

12

12

0

11

+11

Portland Timbers U23s

4

4

0

0

12

9

1

9

+8

Tacoma Tide

4

2

2

0

6

8

6

6

+2

Yakima Reds

4

1

3

0

3

2

10

2

-7

Washington Crossfire

4

1

3

0

3

8

8

4

-2

Spokane Spiders

4

0

4

0

0

3

17

3

-12

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

GP

W

L

T

PTS

GF

GA

GF

GD

Ventura County Fusion

4

3

1

0

9

10

3

8

+5

Orange County Blue Star

4

2

0

2

8

14

6

9

+6

Los Angeles Legends

4

2

1

1

7

8

4

8

+4

Fresno Fuego

4

1

1

2

5

11

12

10

+0

Lancaster Rattlers

4

1

1

2

5

4

8

4

-2

BYU Cougars

4

1

2

1

4

4

5

4

-1

Hollywood United Hitmen

4

1

2

1

4

6

8

6

-2

Ogden Outlaws

4

1

2

1

4

4

10

4

-5

Southern California Seahorses

4

1

3

0

3

2

7

2

-5

Top team qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup

Clinched Open Cup berth – Eliminated from contention

Note: Columns on the far right are for tiebreaker purposes

CENTRAL CONFERENCE

Great Lakes Division

With a week to go, Dayton and Chicago both led the division at 2-0. The Fire would stumble for the next two games, losing to Cincinnati and tying in Cleveland, allowing the Michigan Bucks to pass them, which they did so by defeating Kalamazoo on the road and Cincinnati in a late game-winner. Dayton tied Indiana, which meant that they had to win in Kalamazoo in order to pass the Bucks and qualify for their first Open Cup. They took care of business by winning 4-1 to finish with a 3-0-1 record, one point ahead of Michigan.

Heartland Division

After last week, this division came down to one game, as Des Moines sat at 3-1, with Rochester on their heels at 2-1. Rochester needed to defeat the Kansas City Brass in order to qualify. The score was no matter as they held the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Menace. However, they couldn’t complete their task, tying Kansas City 0-0. This allowed Des Moines to qualify for their fifth trip to the US Open Cup. They share a record (with the Carolina Dynamo) for the furthest advancement by a PDL team, making it to the Fourth Round in 2005. Can they go further? It all starts with game #1 on June 15.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Mid-Atlantic Division

Two teams went all out in making sure they had their chance to make the US Open Cup: the Ironbound Express of Newark and Reading United AC (formerly the Reading Rage). Ironbound made their case by shutting out all the teams on their schedule, defeating the West Virginia Chaos, Central Jersey Spartans, New Jersey Rangers, and Ocean City FC. They finished with 9 goals scored. At the time, Reading was 2-0, having beaten Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, and had a +5 goal differential with 6 goals scored. They would need to win both their games (both on the road) by a total of 4 goals, as well as having to in order to make the tournament. Any slip up, and Ironbound were Open Cup-bound. They proceeded to beat West Virginia 1-0 and Carolina 4-0, finishing at 4-0 with a +9 goal differential (tying Ironbound) and 10 goals scored (edging the Express by 1 goal). With that, Reading United qualify for the US Open Cup for the second straight year, and their fourth trip overall. Ironbound received the unfortunate distinction of being the third team since the current PDL qualifying format began in 1997 to win all four of their games and still miss the tournament (the other two being the Colorado Comets in 1999 and the Southern California Seahorses in 2005). However, out of those three teams, they are the first to miss out after earning shutout victories in all four of their qualifying games.

Northeast Division

The Albany BWP Highlanders and Long Island Rough Riders were the two teams left in the running with a week to go. Albany had finished their campaign at 3-0-1, with Long Island sitting at 3-0 with a game in Westchester to play. A draw was all they needed to qualify, and a draw is what they got. They tied the Flames 0-0 to qualify for the US Open Cup for the fifth time, and their second as a PDL team.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Mid-South Division

Three teams were in the running with a week remaining: DFW and El Paso, who sat in the drivers’ seats at 2-0, and Rio Grande Valley, who were at 0-1-1, but had games against both of those clubs remaining. The Bravos started their comeback with a 1-0 win over the Tornados, pulling themselves within two points. Meanwhile, the Patriots dropped a humiliating 6-0 result to the Laredo Heat. RGV then took care of business and finished off El Paso with a 2-0 win, to put themselves at 7 points. DFW then needed a win over Houston to qualify, as RGV held the head-to-head tiebreaker between the clubs. The Tornados did their job to fend off the comeback kids, beating the Leones 1-0 to qualify for their fourth US Open Cup, and their first since 2004.

Southeast Division

The loss of the Panama City Pirates made a serious mess in how division qualification worked here in the Southeast, and New Orleans and Central Florida had to adjust their schedules accordingly. The Jesters had a match against Bradenton count double for them, while the Kraze had an extra game against Fort Lauderdale only count for themselves and not for Schulz Academy. Both took advantage of their “extra” qualifying games, winning 5-0 and 3-1, respectively. Then the race to the finish got crazy, as three of the five teams still in the running did all they could to make it to the tournament. First, the Kraze defeated Atlanta to go to 2-o-1, tying Mississippi at the top, while knocking the longshot Blackhawks out. Then, in a matchup to decide who still got a chance, Baton Rouge defeated the Jesters 2-1 to move into the lead at 2-0-2, knocking New Orleans out. They would then have to wait for results from the Brilla and Kraze. Mississippi would bump the Capitals with a 3-0 win over Nashville to finish at 3-0-1, but their trip wasn’t quite booked yet. Central Florida had to win by 3 to make it, and win by 3 they did. A 3-0 victory over Schulz Academy gave the Kraze their first trip to the US Open Cup since 2007.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division

The Kitsap Pumas and Portland Timbers U23s both lined up with the same schedule, and all at the same site (Tacoma/Washington at home, Spokane/Yakima on the road). They both proceeded to take care of business and win all four of their games. The final day consisted of the Timbers playing in Yakima and Kitsap hosting the Crossfire. Portland needed to better the result of the Pumas in order to qualify. They did their job, defeating the Reds 2-0, but then would have to wait and see how Kitsap would respond. The Pumas did so by defeating Washington 2-0 themselves, making the US Open Cup for the second straight year, in only their second year of existence. In the same token, Portland becomes the fourth team in PDL qualifying history – and the second of the DAY – to finish 4-0 and not qualify for the Open Cup.

Southwest Division

The Ventura County Fusion, the defending champions of the Premier Development League, are well on their way to a repeat, currently with a 4-1 record. Their first task, qualifying for the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (their first), had already been achieved with a game to spare. They stand at 3-0, defeating Lancaster, Ogden, and Southern California. No other team can finish with more than eight points.

Tavio Palazzolo

One Comment

Firstly congratulations to Central Florida Kraze (Southeastern Divn) on their achievement. We wish you well in subsequent rounds, flying the flag for our division. Secondly, what happens next? What ARE those subsequent rounds and how are they organized? Finally: Great summary. I have published an excerpt in our fan-site The RedStick ( http://theredstick.webs.com Many thanks, Stephen. 01/06/10